Judah, the Intercessor
Notes
Transcript
Text: Genesis 44
1 Then he commanded the steward of his house, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack,
2 and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph told him.
3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys.
4 They had gone only a short distance from the city. Now Joseph said to his steward, “Up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?
5 Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and by this that he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this.’ ”
6 When he overtook them, he spoke to them these words.
7 They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing!
8 Behold, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house?
9 Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be my lord’s servants.”
10 He said, “Let it be as you say: he who is found with it shall be my servant, and the rest of you shall be innocent.”
11 Then each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack.
12 And he searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
13 Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.
14 When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground.
15 Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?”
16 And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.”
17 But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father.”
18 Then Judah went up to him and said, “Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not your anger burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself.
19 My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father, or a brother?’
20 And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.’
21 Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’
22 We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’
23 Then you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again.’
24 “When we went back to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
25 And when our father said, ‘Go again, buy us a little food,’
26 we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother goes with us, then we will go down. For we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’
27 Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons.
28 One left me, and I said, “Surely he has been torn to pieces,” and I have never seen him since.
29 If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs in evil to Sheol.’
30 “Now therefore, as soon as I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy’s life,
31 as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol.
32 For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.’
33 Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers.
34 For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father.”
PRAY
Introduction
The question that Judah asks in v. 16 is a question that each one of our hearts should also echo: “How can we clear ourselves?” Or as the BSB rightly renders it, “How can we justify ourselves?” How can we stand righteous before the lord of all the earth? How can our sins be dealt with in such a way that we can stand joyfully unashamed in the presence of the ruler of all?
The bigger question in Genesis is, how is humanity’s sin problem going to be dealt with and resolved? Since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, every one of their descendants has also sinned and corrupted God’s good creation. The result has been constant conflict even between brothers, such as Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, and Joseph and his brothers.
Who can fix the sin problem? And how will it be fixed?
Genesis 44-45 gives us insight into God’s plan to deal with sin and restore humanity to Himself and to one another. We need the intercession and self-sacrifice that Judah portrays and the forgiveness that Joseph offers.
We need a substitute, someone who will offer Himself to bear our sin and then plead with God on our behalf, and we need the forgiveness and restoration that only God can give through the sacrificial death of the Messiah and His ongoing intercession for us.
Genesis 44-45 are a picture of the gospel — God’s plan to restore His fallen people to Himself. Together, we’ll see, Judah and Joseph foreshadow the work that God has accomplished in Christ for us, to rescue us from our sin and guilt and restore us to a right relationship with Him.
We’ll look at the first half in this message, and the second half in our next message, Lord willing.
The Final Test (1-17)
The Final Test (1-17)
Joseph Prepares the Test (Gen 44:1-5)
1 Then he commanded the steward of his house, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack,
2 and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph told him.
3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys.
4 They had gone only a short distance from the city. Now Joseph said to his steward, “Up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?
5 Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and by this that he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this.’ ”
Joseph has set up the test and enlisted the man in charge of his house to help carry it out.
When Joseph instructs his steward to say in v. 5 that he uses the silver cup to practice divination, we should probably understand that this is part of the test, and not a legitimate statement.
In Deuteronomy 18:9-12, Moses specifically forbids this kind of action among the people of Israel as one of the abominable practices of the Canaanites for which God will drive them out of their land and destroy them. He says,
9 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations.
10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer
11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead,
12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.
So even though Joseph is going to repeat this statement 10 verses later, we should probably understand that Joseph is not really practicing divination — seeking to tell the future through omens or telling fortunes or some other demonic activity.
Rather, I believe Joseph is setting up Benjamin to appear as someone who thinks he can tell the future, perhaps to remind them of himself, when he had dreams about the future of his brothers bowing down to him. Joseph is trying to make Benjamin look like him and put him in similar circumstances to see how his other brothers will respond.
His Steward Enacts the Test (Gen 44:6)
6 When he overtook them, he spoke to them these words.
The Brothers Respond to the Test (7-17)
Protesting Innocence (Gen 44:7-10)
7 They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing!
8 Behold, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house?
9 Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be my lord’s servants.”
10 He said, “Let it be as you say: he who is found with it shall be my servant, and the rest of you shall be innocent.”
Each of them individually knows that they didn’t do the wrong they’re being charged with.
They also seem to have great trust in each other, to the point that they make a very rash statement — if one of us stole the cup, he shall die, and the rest of us will become servants of the lord of the land (presumably, for the rest of our lives).
The steward knows what’s going on and counters their rash statement with a much more reasonable consequence — only the thief will become his servant, and the rest will be innocent — free from guilt, and free to go home to their father and their families.
Found Guilty (Gen 44:11-12)
11 Then each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack.
12 And he searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
The steward already knew where he was going to find the cup (since he put it there), but he intentionally starts with the oldest and makes his way down to the youngest in order to heighten the tension of this moment.
When the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack, what did the other brothers think?
Did they know that they had been set up?
Or did they believe that Benjamin actually stole the cup?
We have no words from Benjamin recorded protesting his innocence, and there are no indications from the other brothers regarding whether they believed he was guilty or innocent. But we find their reaction to these circumstances in the following verses:
Returning to the City (Gen 44:13-14)
13 Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.
14 When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground.
These brothers may have been tempted to resent Benjamin like they had resented Joseph, because of their father’s favoritism. Now something bad happens to this brother that they may not like too much. How do they respond?
They tear their clothes in distress; upset, sorrowful, grieving
Every single one of them participates in this response; all together they head back to the city.
Judah is leading the way, but every one of them feels an obligation to their youngest brother Benjamin.
How do we feel and how do we respond when bad things happen to people we don’t like?
Are we sympathetic with their pain?
Do we genuinely care enough about them so that we can “weep with those who weep”?
This seems to be a positive sign that maybe these brothers have changed. Maybe they’re not still the same men who had sold Joseph into slavery 22 years ago.
Responding to Joseph’s Charge (Gen 44:15-17)
15 Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?”
16 And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.”
17 But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father.”
Joseph’s question, “what is this that you have done?” should call to mind for us several earlier episodes in the book of Genesis where similar phrases have been used:
Genesis 3:13 “13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.””
Genesis 4:10 “10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.”
Genesis 12:18 “18 So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?”
Genesis 20:9 “9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.””
Genesis 26:10 “10 Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.””
Genesis 29:25 “25 And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?””
Genesis 31:26 “26 And Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done, that you have tricked me and driven away my daughters like captives of the sword?”
In each one of these situations, someone had done something wrong (or at least perceived as wrong) and is being called to account. The statement essentially indicates, “You’ve done something wrong; what do you have to say about it?”
And again, when Joseph says that he can use his silver cup to practice divination, I believe we are supposed to understand this as part of the test, not as something that Joseph is really doing.
Judah once again steps up and leads.
His question, “How can we clear ourselves?” or “How can we justify ourselves?” really is the central question here, and it is the question each one of us should ask too.
How can I be righteous? How can I stand free from guilt and blame before the judge of all the earth?
Judah acknowledges, “God has found out the guilt of your servants.” God has exposed our sin; He has shown us to be guilty (probably referring to their sin against Joseph, based on what they said in Genesis 42:21 — “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother…”)
Joseph concludes the test in v. 17 by saying that only Benjamin needs to stay behind as his servant, and the rest of them are free to go.
Will they treat Benjamin like they treated Joseph? Will they forget about their little brother and leave him behind?
This time they actually have a somewhat valid excuse — he appears to have stolen from the ruler of Egypt. There was no possible righteous excuse for their treatment of Joseph, but this was the perfect setup — they don’t even have to lie to their father this time; they could leave Benjamin behind and tell their father the truth and still appear upright.
But by God’s grace, these men have changed. They are not who they once were.
We see this change especially exemplified in Judah, as he now intercedes for his brother and offers himself as a substitute.
Judah’s Intercession (18-34)
Judah’s Intercession (18-34)
Plea for mercy and recognition of power (Gen 44:18)
18 Then Judah went up to him and said, “Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not your anger burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself.
As we look at Judah’s intercession here, notice elements of what he says that are similar to other places in Scripture where people are interceding with God on behalf of His people.
Before Judah, of course, we have the example of Abraham, who interceded on behalf of his nephew Lot and his family in Sodom. Later on there will be others who intercede, like Moses, Samuel, Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah among others.
Like those other intercessors, Judah begins his intercession by acknowledging the power of the one with whom he is pleading and asking for patience, mercy, and grace.
“You are like Pharaoh himself” — acknowledging power and authority
“Let not your anger burn…” — pleading for patience and mercy
Then, like other intercessors, Judah rehearses the past words and actions of the one with whom he is pleading: here is what you have said and here is what you’ve done
Rehearsal of past interactions with Joseph (Gen 44:19-23)
19 My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father, or a brother?’
20 And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.’
21 Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’
22 We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’
23 Then you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again.’
Apparently these brothers actually believe that Joseph is dead — perhaps from lying about it for so long, or perhaps just assuming there was no way he would survive. This is another reason they couldn’t recognize him — because they think he’s dead.
Judah begins even in this section to acknowledge his father’s favoritism; he’ll say more later, but here he says that his father loves Benjamin, contrasting that by implication with how their father feels toward him and his other brothers. His father loves him (but he doesn’t care so much about us).
Then Judah continues with a
Rehearsal of their interaction with their father Jacob (Gen 44:24-26)
24 “When we went back to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
25 And when our father said, ‘Go again, buy us a little food,’
26 we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother goes with us, then we will go down. For we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’
Then, in the following verses, Judah acknowledges his father’s favoritism toward Benjamin.
Acknowledgement of father’s favoritism (Gen 44:27-31)
27 Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons.
28 One left me, and I said, “Surely he has been torn to pieces,” and I have never seen him since.
29 If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs in evil to Sheol.’
30 “Now therefore, as soon as I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy’s life,
31 as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol.
But even as he honestly expresses his father’s favoritism, we don’t sense any resentment toward Benjamin or toward his father. Rather, Judah genuinely loves his father, and he desires to please and honor his father.
In the next verse Judah states his
Commitment to his father (Gen 44:32)
32 For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.’
This is what Judah had promised his father in Genesis 43:9. He had said to Jacob, “I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.”
Now he shows his commitment to his father by following through on his promise.
I can only imagine what Joseph thought as he heard these words. Joseph probably knew that Judah was the one who had suggested selling him into slavery, and now he is on the front line protecting his younger brother. Is this the same Judah?
Not only that, but Judah offers himself as a substitute in Benjamin’s place.
Intercession and self-sacrifice (Gen 44:33)
33 Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers.
Let me take his place, Judah says. Let me bear his sin and guilt. Let me suffer the consequences instead of him, and let him go free.
What an amazing sacrifice this was. Judah was volunteering to give up all his hopes and dreams for his future; he was willing to forfeit his place in the promised land, to miss out on seeing his children and grandchildren grow up; he would never see his father or other family members again; he would never be free again for the rest of his life. He was willing to give up everything for the good of his brother and the honor of his father. This was an amazing sacrifice.
What a beautiful picture of the gospel this is. Just as Judah offered himself as a substitute in Benjamin’s place, so Jesus offers Himself as a substitute for us. We are guilty of sin and deserving of eternal punishment, yet Jesus says, “Take Me instead.” Isaiah 53:6 expresses this substitution in a beautiful way: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Jesus is our substitute.
What a radical change has taken place in Judah’s life. He was the one who spear-headed the plan to sell Joseph into slavery for 20 pieces of silver. He was the one who had slept with his daughter-in-law, using her for his own pleasure. He was just looking out for his own interests, seeking to fulfill his own desires, using and abusing other people to get what he wanted. And now look at him. He’s laying everything on the line — his life and everything he has — to save his little brother. Judah is a changed man. By God’s grace, he has repented of his sin and is now seeking to do right. The man who once loved only himself now genuinely loves his brother and his father.
Genuine love for father (Gen 44:34)
34 For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father.”
Despite his father’s failure to love him and his brothers as he ought, Judah genuinely loves his father and desires to honor him and care for him. As a result, he’s willing to give up everything to show love to his father.
Conclusion
So, “How can we clear ourselves?” Or “How can we justify ourselves?” How can we stand righteous before the lord of all the earth?
Who can fix the sin problem? And how will it be fixed?
Part of the answer is here in Genesis 44, in the intercession and self-sacrifice that Judah portrays. And we’ll see the other part next week in Genesis 45, Lord willing.
Like Benjamin here in Genesis 44, we need a substitute, someone who will offer Himself to bear our sin and its consequences and then plead with God on our behalf.
But we also need the forgiveness and restoration that only God can give through the sacrificial death of the Messiah and His ongoing intercession for us.
We need the One whom both Judah and Joseph foreshadow — Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is too glorious to be fully represented by any other one human being.
Applications
Applications
See Jesus in Judah
See Jesus in Judah
— consider the glory of Christ’s self-sacrifice on your behalf and His ongoing intercession for you. Give thanks to Him for His sacrifice and his intercession. (Romans 8:33-34)
33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
Self-sacrifice is the path to glory
Self-sacrifice is the path to glory
(Matthew 10:37-39; 16:24-26; 19:29)
Temporary self-sacrifice leads to everlasting honor. — Jim Hamilton
When Judah offered himself as a slave in Benjamin’s place, he didn’t know the outcome. His faith in God and God’s promises led to genuine love for his brother and his father, even to the point of giving up everything. But by giving up everything, Judah ended up gaining great honor.
At the end of Genesis, Jacob says to him, “Judah, your brothers shall praise you.” And we learn that it will be through Judah’s line that kings will come.
And many, many years later, the Messiah Himself, Jesus Christ, would come from Judah’s line. The Lamb of God is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah, our Savior and King forever.
Judah foreshadows the greater self-sacrifice and exaltation of Jesus Christ, and he also shows us the path of those who are genuine believers even today. Jesus said in Matthew 16:25,
25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Love others like Judah
Love others like Judah
(and more importantly, like Jesus!)
Humbly and lovingly make sacrifices for the good of others (1 Peter 2:21)
21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.
Demonstrate the reality of your faith by sacrificing yourself for the good of others.
PRAY
